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Friday, July 18, 2014

Well Said: Preparing the Soil

All men, whatever their lives may have been in the past, are able to become soil that is prepared to receive God's grace. God pours himself into our souls in accordance with the degree of welcome He finds there. God gives us so many graces because He trusts each one of us; there is no soil that is too impervious or too uncultivated for him, so long as it is prepared to change and to respond to him.

Listening to the Gospel reading last Sunday with the parable of the sowers, this was the very thought that ran through my head. Yes the soil may be packed down hard from people walking on it, but if someone hoes it up, adds some compost, and the soft rain falls? Then it too may be fertile.

I get the point Jesus was making, of course, but considering the farming analogy it seems to me that He also expects us to cultivate our own gardens ... so that we may cooperate with the farmer. In my own life, I can see that the more often I examine my conscience, cultivate the virtues, repent of my sins in confession, and so forth, then the more God's grace can enrich my life.

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Flight of the Conchords

You guys seem a lot cooler today. Usually you guys wear clothes from the 70's.

Jermaine:

They're not from the 70's, they're from New Zealand.

Dave:

Isn't that the same thing?

Jermaine:

Similar I suppose.

Horoscope

The circumstances of your life will combine in such a way as to grant you possession of a great many lemons. However, all the advice you receive regarding their purpose will be useless and trite.

Note this is satire via The Onion (warning: site can contain explicit content). Satire means: trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

2015 Movie and Book Challenges

What I'm Reading

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I've read the original version from cover to cover. This is the rewritten version which I got as soon as it came out (years ago now) and have dipped into from time to time.
A conversation with a couple of food and science loving friends...

I love the way that Johnson is able to make everything so clear in terms of how various civilizations' art mirrors their governing styles. He also made me really respect early man (you know, the ones who filled those caves with all that ...

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